Hanh Kim’s Quatsch*
Add Orange County Register writer Hanh Kim Quach to the ever-growing lsit of self-important journalists who mistake their own opinions for The FactsTM. In this article on the four Schwarzenegger initiatives, Quach writes the following on Prop 75, the paycheck protection initiative:
The claim: Government labor unions should stop taking workers’ money for politics without their permission.
The background: It’s true that labor unions use dues to further their political goals, but so do businesses.
Which is true, perhaps, assuming you limit your analysis to businesses that charge dues. Its supposed relevance to
The facts: Critics of Proposition 75 say that businesses contribute money, without the permission of shareholders, for political goals. If unions are going to have these restrictions, businesses should be held to the same standard.
This has got to be the first “fact” I’ve read in a long time that included the word “should.” One possible explanation is that “critics of Proposition 75 say…” was intended to preface both sentences, and that the only “fact” Quach is providing is the unremarkable fact that union hacks make this lame argument. The other, more likely correct one, is that Quach thinks his own opinions are so self-evidently correct they should be characterized as “facts” rather than as “sez me.” Either way, this is not good journalism.
*Bonus points for the first commenter to explain this pun.
September 28th, 2005 at 1:30 pm
Nonsense in German?
September 28th, 2005 at 2:46 pm
Isn’t that Germanic/Yiddish slang roughly equivalent to “Crap” (or worse) — a vulgar noun to signal disdain?
September 28th, 2005 at 3:26 pm
“Nonsense” is a pretty good translation. It’s not vulgar in standard German, though for all I know, it could be in Yiddish (cf. “schmuck,” a perfectly good German word for jewelry, but a very vulgar word in Yiddish for … well, you know).
September 28th, 2005 at 4:26 pm
Can I retire on my bonus points?
September 28th, 2005 at 5:28 pm
I wouldn’t recommend it.
September 29th, 2005 at 2:24 am
Since we’re on the German thing, I should point out that your spelling of “Ick” in a previous post header is a bit off, President Kennedy. Should be “Ich”.
September 29th, 2005 at 7:11 am
In standard (High) German, sure, but AFAIK the pronunciation of the word in Berlin dialect is “ick,” as in “Berlin, ick liebe dir.” I’m pretty sure JFK said “ick,” too, but I’m less inclined to chalk that up to the brilliance of his translators than to his own inability to pronounce the more standard ch.
September 29th, 2005 at 11:52 pm
I recall–from films–that he said ick. Had he been speaking here in Bern, he could have pronounced the German letter “I”, and it would have been said perfectly: “I bi ei Berner”
September 30th, 2005 at 11:26 am
Actually, in Hochdeutsch, “ich” is pronounced as a Voiceless palatal fricative, which is and English “ich” with a sudden momentary constriction of the palate. It is not pronounced “ick”, and certainly never spelled as such.
September 30th, 2005 at 11:39 am
I know, but Berliners don’t speak Hochdeutsch, and neither did JFK.
October 2nd, 2005 at 4:33 pm
As I remember it, JFK pronounced it “ish,” which is pretty damn close to how my German teacher told me the lowland Germans pronounce the terminal “ch.”
He, of course, taught us the “harder” pronunciation, which is as Pigilito says — and much closer to “ick” than what JFK said.